November 2008

Country Profile Jordan

Jordan is a victim of climate change, which causes greater rainfall fluctuation in its desert region (only 3.3 percent of the area can be used for farming) and an unpredictable risk in terms of crop harvest and yields. Droughts, coupled with the effects of population growth and extensive grazing, lead to soil erosion and further desertification.

Jordan’s main development hurdle is its lack of natural resources, and especially water and oil. Additional problems include a lame industry, poverty (14.2 percent in 2007), unemployment (official 13.5 percent/unofficial 30 percent in 2007), high national debt (72.4 percent of GDP) and inflation (5.4 percent in 2007). Jordan is also flanked by conflict, with the Palestinian home areas to the west and Iraq to the east: no less than half a million Iraqi refugees and 1.8 million Palestinians have fled to Jordan so far. It is one of the few Arab states to be actively involved in attempts to solve the Middle East crisis and thus enjoys extremely close (development) policy and economic cooperation ties with Germany.

Economic reforms introduced under King Abdullah II have seen Jordan become a member of the WTO and achieve a significant rise in exports after signing free trade agreements with the EU (2001) and the USA (22.4 percent to the US in 2007). Economic growth currently stands at 6 percent. As part of the reforms, traditional state-owned sectors like Jordan’s important potash industry and its energy sector will gradually be opened up to foreign investment.

Jordan has acknowledged the need for climate change mitigation, environmental protection and independent energy supply. Introduced in 2003, its Environment Protection Act provides the legal framework for a national programme to conserve water resources, protect biodiversity and combat desertification. The role of renewable energy and energy efficiency have been enshrined in Jordan’s Energy Master Plan 2004 and the National Indicative Programme 2007 – 2010. Among other things, the share of heating oil-fired power stations in overall energy supply is to be reduced from 65 percent in 1994 to 21 percent in 2023, and the use of solar-thermal energy to provide hot water in private households increased to 20 percent by 2012. The goal of two percent renewables in 2012 and three percent in 2017 is, however, rather conservative. The Jordanian government’s efforts are backed by European Commission initiatives like the Middle East North Africa Renewable Energy Conference (MENAREC), the MEDA programme to promote solar thermal energy, and the MED-ENEC project for energy efficiency in buildings.

As a MENA region state, Jordan is one of the countries included in Germany’s CDM/JI Initiative. The German Environment Ministry has asked GTZ to establish CDM networks to link government agencies, businesses and other interested parties. A MENA country expert has also been named (see below).

Founded in 2002 and located in Amman, the Jordanian Environment Ministry serves as the CDM DNA. Its one and only CDM project was registered in September. This large-scale project with British involvement aims to initiate an oil-to-gas fuel switch in an existing heat power plant and expects to generate some 371,163 CERs a year until 2018.

Because Jordan generates about 90 percent of its electricity from oil, it has a correspondingly high emissions factor. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar power thus have great potential. The use of solar thermal energy for hot water supplies is cost-effective, can be implemented in a decentralised manner and thus provides an opening for the programmatic CDM. Jordan’s wind power potential is estimated at 100 MW. A 1.35 MW wind farm in northern Jordan has received German backing and uses German-made wind turbines. Biogas from landfills and liquid manure (slurry) provides yet another option. The country’s hydropower, biomass and geothermal energy potential is, however, relatively low due to the local climate and geology.

Further selected information:

Jordanian DNA website
Jordan’s National Communication on Climate Change to the UNFCCC (PDF)
German Foreign Office: Information on Jordan
Bertelsmann Jordan Country Profile
CIA World Fact Book
GTZ in Jordan
European Commission: The EU’s Relations with Jordan
European Commission: Jordan Country Strategy Paper 2007 – 2013 (PDF)
MEDA – Applications of solar thermal energy in the Mediterranean Basin
MED-ENEC – Energy Efficiency in the Construction Sector in the Mediterranean
German Environment Ministry CDM/JI Initiative
MENA Region Country Expert: Joerg.Linke@gtz.de